Overnight Recap: #AmazonCart, Heyday Cloud Sync, Apple Patent Wrapup

Former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is officially now working for Apple as senior vice president of retail and online stores, and according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the new retail boss racked up a healthy $68 million signing bonus just for joining the team. Naturally, she'll have to wait for those 113,334 restricted stock units to vest over the next four years, but hey, wouldn't we all like to cash in before we actually do any work?

Amazon Moves Shopping to Twitter with #AmazonCart

If you happen to buy a lot of products from Amazon that you initially discover on Twitter, this one may be for you. The two companies announced #AmazonCart on Monday, a new hashtag that allows any Amazon-originated product link to be added to a customer's shopping cart just by retweeting with the hashtag — all without leaving Twitter. The process doesn't actually make a purchase, but rather tosses the product into your cart where it can be purchased or removed at the shopper's discretion. Of course, the downside is you'll have to share purchases with Twitter followers, so you might not want to purchase anything friends or family could publicly shame you about. The embedded YouTube video below explains how it works.

Heyday Photo Journal App Adds Unlimited Cloud Sync

Hey, Inc. recently released an update to its free iPhone photo journal app Heyday, with version 1.2 finally adding the ability to sync an unlimited number of images to the cloud. While Heyday has always been able to sync timeline memories with other devices, cloud sync for photos means that users won't lose images after they're deleted from the Camera Roll, and they'll show up on other devices synced to the same account. For cloud-averse users, Heyday can also now be used completely in offline mode — no need to sign up or log in, and everything remains solely on one device. With cloud sync now in place, the company is also teasing a native iPad version for the near future, which would nicely round out this automatic journal app we rated "Excellent" in our review late last year.

Patent Jury Foreman Suggests Apple Go Straight for Google

Re/code reported Monday that the eight-person federal jury who handed Apple a $119.6 million victory over Samsung last Friday reconvened yesterday to address a potential error. The recalculation added $4 million to Samsung's damages, but unfortunately tweaks to the amounts awarded on other products put the final amount right back where it started. Speaking of the jury, The Wall Street Journal is reporting (via 9to5Mac) that foreman Tom Dunham believes Apple should attack Google directly, rather than spar with Samsung, the largest Android equipment manufacturer. "If you really feel that Google is the cause behind this, as I think everybody has observed, then don’t beat around the bush. Let the courts decide. But a more direct approach may be something to think about," Dunham elaborated. Observers have speculated Apple may have avoided that option thus far since Google gives away Android, rather than licenses the operating system.

Boost Mobile Debuts Unlimited Plans Starting at $40 Per Month

Sprint prepaid subsidiary Boost Mobile today announced new unlimited talk, text, and data plans which promise to offer even better value for frugal smartphone users. Starting at $40 per month for 500MB of high-speed data, the Monthly Unlimited Select plans work with any Sprint-compatible device, but aren't eligible for the company's "Shrinking Payment" discounts. While the trio of new plans are truly unlimited, the $50 tier includes only 2.5GB of high-speed data, while the most expensive $60 plan bumps that amount up to 5GB. Boost Mobile also offers a number of add-on services including international text and calling, Mobile Wallet, and smartphone insurance packages.

Red Giant Officially Launches Universe

Users of pro video tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro X, and Motion now have a new arsenal at their disposal, thanks to the official launch of Red Giant Universe. First announced as a beta more than two months ago, Universe is a community of free tools for editors, filmmakers, visual effects, and motion design artists using Mac and PC. The package includes 31 free plug-ins, but Red Giant also offers a Premium membership priced at $10 per month ($99 per year) that gives users access to an additional 19 tools (12 effects, seven transitions), as well as others yet to be added in the future. Those averse to subscription-based services can also plunk down $399 for a lifetime subscription that will never expire.